Leicester 1, Oxford 2, positive and negative points, player ratings and match report, championship match

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After being one point clear of Wrexham we were hopeful of all three points today. Hamza Choudhury moved to midfield and Louis Page replaced the injured Oliver Skipp and Jordan James. That’s a downgrade, but we’re still hoping to get the best of both.

Ricardo Pereira was also back in the starting line-up. The rest of the team was the same from Wrexham. Hamza Choudhury never really came to terms with the task at hand, Louis Page made the most of his opportunities and was Leicester’s best player on the pitch.

The start became a nightmare against a team that was in the relegation zone. They’re fighting for their lives to get out of that position and they had a fight. They were rewarded after 4 minutes, scoring from a set piece as Leicester’s players were muscular in one-on-one battles.

Leicester were one goal behind but with most of the game still to go we believed this would be an opportunity to turn this around. A very defensive and smart Oxford unit kept Leicester away from their penalty area, making things very difficult with a nine-man block in front of their goalkeeper.

Defeat on Filbert Way.#LEIOXU | @BCGame pic.twitter.com/uvuQo5FAFZ

— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 24, 2026

Leicester were 1-0 down at half time and it looked like a big climb. Marti Cifuentes made one change for the second half, taking off Ben Nelson and replacing him with Luke Thomas. The gripe with this is the manager’s vision, playing Ben Nelson at left-back, and then calling for your first choice again if you feel this is failing.

The rotation of this football team is one of the strangest I have seen since I started supporting this football club in 1972. There seems to be no plan A, no plan B, nor any structure or system. The two wide players Fatawu and Mavididi are closed down by the opponent with two players constantly in front of them. Then you have other choices to use and not play one-on-one short passes to your flanks.

Leicester were on the hunt for a goal, but that seemed difficult early in the second half. Marti Cifuentes decided to make a bold move and played a strange system, bringing on Jeremy Monga and Patson Daka and eliminating Hamza Choudhury and Jordan Ayew.

It was positive, but also risky, as after an Oxford break in the 71st minute, Mark Harris found himself in front alone and was able to pass Jacub Stolarczyk and put the ball in the net. A great counter-attack from Oxford and a well-planned move.

Leicester then managed to come back with a nice goal from Abdul Fatawu from the penalty area. This made it possible to at least get a point. Jannik Vestergaard led the way, but the distribution towards him was terrible. This looks frustrating and difficult. Leicester are not looking forward to it at the moment and of course miss Jordan James very much.

We still have to look ahead, but at this moment, after this horror performance, believing in Marti Cifuentes can be very difficult. Next up is Charlton.

• Positives
  • Abdul Fatawu with a nice goal
  • Play all subtitles
  • Louis Page man of the match
• Negatives
  • Not having enough strength to win the one-on-one battles
  • Taking Louis Page off the field
  • Two sloppy goals conceded
  • No answers on how to split a block of Oxford players
  • Too many important players are absent

Line-up:
Stolarczyk 4, Pereira 4, Vestergaard 5, Okoli 4, Nelson 4, De Cordova Reid 3, Choudhury 2, Page 6, Ayew 2, Mavididi 3, Fatawu 5, Subs: Thomas L 5, Thomas S, Monga, Daka, Soumare

• Leicester City, man of the match

Match statistics (H/A)

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